This Is Why You NEED Flat Cloth Diapers

I’ve been in the cloth diaper industry for almost decade and honestly I’ve been terrified of flat diapers the majority of the time. I get it, they are economical and easy to launder. However, the idea of trying to fold them each time before use stressed me out. Who has time with a squirming child trying roll off the changing pad to fold a flat and secure it tightly? Why not just use prefolds?

Well I decided it was time to face my fear. There had to be a reason that so many people loved flats. I mean we sell a metric ton of these each year. I set aside all my expensive all in ones, all in twos, and fancy diaper systems to try them.

My daughter was not impressed the first time I attempted the origami fold. The legs were too large and they definitely wouldn’t contain an epic blow out. The second try was better, but still not completely secure. Then I had to give up. Ham was having none of it. She was frustrated that it was taking 15 minutes for a simple diaper change since I had to re-do the fold each try. I felt justified in my original fear of using flats, but I work at a cloth diaper company. I couldn’t just give up.

For her next diaper change I was prepared. I had the fold down to a science and I folded that flat like it was my full time job. This time it maybe took me a grand total of 15 seconds to get the flat on and fastened with a Snappi. The next couple of days were easy. Once you learn the fold they really weren’t any more difficult then a prefold. Did I mention this is the first time I didn’t have to re-start my dryer for a 2nd time? The flats were dry 20 minutes before my dryer timer even went off. I am now over my fear of flats.

With all of this said, this is not why you need to buy flats. I just wanted to brag. You need flats because they make the most incredible diaper inserts. You spend $10 on 2 microfiber inserts for your pockets or all in twos. You can get 12 flat diapers for around $18.00 that do the exact same job but better.

Microfiber is synthetic, unlike flats that are 100% cotton. Microfiber inserts are popular because they are cheap and can absorb a ton of liquid. The negatives are that they are extremely bulky, easily trap ammonia and bacteria, and can’t be used directly against babies skin. Flats are trim, more absorbent then microfiber, easier to launder, can be used directly on your infants bum, and not made of a synthetic material. I have started replacing the majority of my inserts now with flats. Try the pad fold and I guarantee you will also make the switch.